Hazard impresses as Real Madrid makes winning return
Real Madrid made a winning return to LaLiga action with a 3-1 win over Eibar in the Spanish capital, maligned Belgian attacker Eden Hazard starring.
Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo eased Madrid into a comfortable half-time lead, with the visitor's second-half improvement yielding nothing but a Pedro Bigas consolation.
With Barcelona having won 4-0 at Real Mallorca a day earlier, the pressure was on Los Blancos to follow suit and close the gap at the top of the table back to two points.
Madrid's home games are being held at the Castilla's Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu undergoes renovation work, but the change in venue made little difference as the home side marked Zinedine Zidane's 200th game in charge in winning fashion.
Kroos broke the deadlock in the fourth minute with a sublime first-time strike from just inside the box that looped beyond goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.
Eibar responded well but were 2-0 down after half an hour. Ramos stepped out to intercept a pass and spark a swift counter-attacking move that ended with the Madrid captain tapping in an unselfish square ball from the impressive Eden Hazard, who was back in the line-up for the first time since February after recovering from an ankle fracture.
A crisp strike from Marcelo into the bottom-right corner after more good interplay between Hazard and Karim Benzema made it 3-0 before the break, the Brazil left-back taking a knee after drilling home his first league goal of the season.
Thibaut Courtois saved superbly from Edu Exposito and Sergi Enrich hit the bar with a header, before Pablo De Blasis' shot deflected off Bigas and bobbled beyond Courtois to give Eibar a lifeline.
It was a largely pedestrian second half from Madrid, with Hazard and Ramos taken off and Marcelo struggling with a knock, but Eibar could not mount a comeback.
